Multifunctional Nanostructured Conductive Polymers
Nanostructured conductive polymers synergize the advantageous features of conventional polymers and organic conductors, as well as nanostructured materials. We are trailblazing new synthetic methods and modification strategies for nanostructured conductive polymers with improved electrical/electrochemical properties as well as mechanical flexibility property, and exploring their potential in various technological applications, including: 1. Electrode and binder materials for next-generation energy storage devices owing to their large surface area, continuous conductive network and hierarchical porosity; 2. Scalable, low-cost and versatile bio...

2D Energy Materials
Two-dimensional (2D) energy materials exhibit distinctly different characteristics from their bulk counterparts, providing a number of exciting opportunities for fundamental studies and technological applications. We are focusing on rational design and synthesis of new inorganic solids with unique 2D structures to understand their fundamental charge transport/storage characteristics and to enable their promising applications in various energy technologies.

Materials/Chemistry for Redox Flow Batteries
The synergy between the redox flow batteries and other battery chemistries offers the opportunity towards highly modular electrical energy storage systems. As an emerging battery technology based on lithium chemistry, the Li-redox flow batteries inherit and step further towards the smart features of other battery technologies. Our research effort focuses on the design rationale, fundamentals and characterization of Li-redox flow batteries from a chemistry and material perspective, with particular emphasis on the development of redox-active organic compounds as high-energy liquid electrodes.

Rational Design & Synthesis of Hybrid Nanomaterial Systems for Energy Storage
Energy storage devices and systems play an important role in realizing the renewable energy future of the mankind. They are critically important for portable electronics, hybrid and electric vehicles, and for longer term, smart grid. We are working on the development of low-cost, high-performance nanostructured materials which are environmentally friendly and compatible with large-scale processing for energy storage systems including lithium batteries and electrochemical capacitors, as well as fundamental studies of charge separation and energy transfer within these energy storage device systems. Currently, we are actively exploring the follo...

Novel Nanostructured Materials for Efficient Energy Conversion
Harvesting energy from the waste (for instance, waste heat, waste water) is of tremendous scientific and technological interest and can improve the overall efficiency of energy conversion processes. We are focused on two important energy conversion technologies including thermoelectrics and microbial fuel cells, which can convert waste heat and chemical energy to electricity, respectively. Our research aims to develop highly efficient energy conversion devices by engineering new materials with chemically tunable nanostructures to control and optimize carrier transport, reaction kinetics and thermodynamics in materials. This research will in t...

Self-assembly of Nanostructures for Energy & Bioelectronics
Controlled organization of nanomaterials into hierarchically designed structures is a primary focus that scientists have been striving to address for bringing nanoscale science and technology into next level of fully integrated systems. We are particularly interested in exploring the diversity and high selectivity in biological interactions, such as DNA base-pairing and protein-protein interactions, to assemble low-dimensional structures into higher-dimensional ordered arrays and other designed architectures in a controllable and reversible fashion for a range of technological applications in energy and life sciences.
A. Self-assembled Nanoe...